Officer Punches Teen: MERGED

This is a discussion on Officer Punches Teen: MERGED within the Law Enforcement, Military & Homeland Security Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; I saw the tape.
He lacked follow through.
Disgusting. Disgusting.
Follow throught. As in "Punch BEHIND the target"
Cop's punch - FAIL...

he had one person (doesn't matter if male or female) that was ignoring him and his detaining request, had a person resisting, had a person interfering, the woman pushed him hard enough that he momentarily lost his balance (can see him hop and regain his footing), almost knocked him over, thats enough of force used against him to use force back as he did
he was assaulted by both women and they should pay for their disrespect, attitude, and criminal behavior
if you lay a hand on an officer then expect the consequences
I've had to deal with females that were belligerent and I guess they think we're not supposed to touch them (their boyfriends think the same too)
use of force always looks bad....striking with baton and physical force both look bad, especially if the baton strikes are not effective and if the physical (hands on) stuff isn't working it gets really ugly, but we have to do what we have to do

if he would have tased one he would still have to be physical with the 2nd one if she would have continued....then the naysayers would be going off on how he tased a poor little innocent 17 year old girl, imagine if he was tasing her and the 2nd girl continued and he had to punch/kick/hit her....he's doing what he had to do....to do the job

if had used the baton then it would be that he was beating them down with his nightstick

I think the LEO was spot on however he may have stepped into a minor issue with the face strike. A strike to the face/head could be construed as a lethal act. In baton training I have received, we were told to NEVER strike the head as it could result in death. As a Paramedic I know that a strike to the nose can result in a skull fracture with brain injury. So the question in my mind is, is it worth the risk in this situation? Probably not (yet). But I wasn't there, and again, I will not say he acted inappropriately. He did not have the benefit of calm reflection, he was threatened and responded to protect himself. As well he's lucky he didn't further inflame the bystanders to action.

I'm not saying that it can't happen. People have died from tasers and a number of other things. While the individual act may happen to be lethal, that is not the normal reaction and proving lethal intent would be very difficult. A punch to the face would not normally be considered the use of lethal force.

Maybe we need a Poll , to get the scoring on this one.... I give it a "7".

"10". He hit her and her threat to him stopped. Might not have been a Chuck Liddell left hook that left her on her back twitching, but it had the desired intent and he finished his business with the original loudmouth.

IMO, he was absolutely justified in using force to stop the multiple-on-one physical assault he was sustaining from those women. They should all be arrested for assault on an officer, "punches" be damned.

Yes, he used force. It was in direct response to continued assault and battery (though reasonably mild) from multiple people who were interfering with his attempt to control a situation. He would have been justified at using much more severe force, had those attacking him gotten just a bit more aggressive in their battery.

Call me crazy, but the folks doing the assaulting don't seem the sort to ever appreciate what they were doing as criminal acts.

Time to grow up, citizens. Strike a cop ... go to jail. Get struck, Tasered or worse in response to your battery on cops, then you get what you get. It's as simple as that.

As for those in the scene who were assaulting the officer and then whining about their lot in life ... tough.

The 17 year old teen seen in that video apologized to the officer who punched her Friday morning.

James Kelly of Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle was there. He says, "This was not about cameras, and charges, and lawsuits and people getting into their own silo's and protecting their own turf: this is about two human beings who might offer the rest of us a chance of learning from a situation which could present itself any time in any neighborhood with any one of us."

He goes on to say in a statement that the teen apologized to SPD Officer Ian Walsh, "I want to personally thank Angel for coming forward to apologize for her part in the situation on Monday over by Franklin High, and I want to thank Ian Walsh for meeting with her and accepting her apology."

This started as a mere jaywalking citation which turned into a shoving match and ended with Officer Walsh punching the 17-year-old girl in the face.

In the video you can see a crowd gather. "This officer was surrounded by an ever growing-group that was starting to form. This could have been a tragedy," says Rich O'Neill with the Seattle Police Officer's Guild.

O'Neill says this was an appropriate use of force. "The officers are trained in boxing techniques, in closed fist strikes. When an officer is knocked off their feet and knocked to the ground, especially with a group that's around, horrible things can happen. People can start grabbing for their weapon or duty belt," says O'Neill.

For nearly two minutes after the officer punches the teenage girl, the video shows her friend continuing to try to break away. He was surrounded with no help from other officers.

"For people to call this some sort of police brutality or racist incident is wrong," says O'Neill.

Former Seattle Police Officer Jason McKissack knows all too well how a simple arrest can escalate into a dangerous situation. He was trying to break up a fight two years ago when the suspects attacked him.

"He was running at me from maybe ten feet away and he does a soccer kick to my face," says McKissack.

"The group turned on Jason and knocked him down. They kicked and beat him. This is what's in the mind of our officers when they're out on the street," says O'Neill.

McKissack isn't on the force anymore. He suffered a traumatic brain injury that's forever changed his life. It's yet another reminder to other officers of what can happen on the job.

"We went through a horrible year here where we had officers brutally gunned down. We've had officers assaulted and officers are not paid to get hurt," says O'Neill.

O'Neill says this incident is a reminder to teens and people of all ages that it is never alright to put your hands on an officer. Assistant Chief Nick Metz held a news conference Tuesday and says he understands why some people might call the officer's actions into question.

"Let's face it, force never looks good. It's never pretty. You have to take into context everything that occurred from the point the officer made contact with the individuals up to the time the situation ended," says Metz.

Metz says Franklin High School asked Seattle police to enforce the jaywalking law outside campus because of all the students that don't use the pedestrian overpass to safely cross the street.

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The video was distributed on YouTube and shows the officer trying to restrain a woman when another intervened. The woman who intervened was punched in the face. Officials with the NAACP are calling for the resignation of interim Seattle Police Chief John Diaz. James Bible, the head of the NAACP, says, "I would hope that he would step away based on this incident and so many others on his own. I think that at this stage that would be the dignified thing to do."

According to the police report, on June 14 an officer saw several people jaywalking on the 3100 block of MLK Jr. Way. The officer stopped a man and while talking to the 18 year old, he saw four women jaywalking at the same street. He then told the females to step over to his vehicle.

The police report reveals the women were "verbally antagonistic toward the officer."

One of the women began to turn and walk away. The officer told the woman to step over to his car. She continued to walk away and appeared to raise her hand in a dismissive gesture. The officer contacted the woman and began escorting her back toward his car.

According to the report, the woman began to tense up her arm and pull away from the officer while yelling at him. The woman refused to obey the officer's commands to place her hands on the car. When the officer again tried to gain control of her, she pulled away and twisted, breaking free of the officer's grip several times.

At this time a large crowd gathered around the officer. When the officer tried to handcuff the female, another woman intervened. The report says, "The second female subject placed her hands on the officer's arm, causing the officer to believe she was attempting to physically affect the first subject's escape. The officer pushed the second subject back, but she again came at the officer, at which time he punched her. The second subject moved away and the officer was able to handcuff the first subject and place her in the back seat of his patrol car."

The second woman was also handcuffed and restrained.

Both suspects are teenagers. A 19-year-old female was booked into the King County Jail for obstructing an officer. The 17-year-old female who was punched was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of assault of an officer. Both suspects were cited for jaywalking.

Seattle police report nobody appeared to be injured as a result of the altercation.

Medics responded to scene and and evaluated the 17-year-old as a precautionary measure.